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Lots of News and an Invitation!!!

With so many of my favorite magazines no longer publishing – think Country Home, domino, House and Garden, Vogue Living, Western Interiors, to name just five off the top of my head, the ones left standing have become so much more important. The other day, at the store, I was just staring at the magazine rack – how empty it seemed! I used to leave a bookstore with armfuls of magazines, but now with such a smaller selection, along with the ever expanding digital field, I’m lucky to find two or three issues to take home. Sad. But, what an opportunity this is for those magazines still standing! With a narrower playing field, the readers will be getting the creme de le creme. Each issue should be chock full of the prettiest houses out there, along with all the latest design news.

For example, the July/August issue of Metropolitan Home looks positively delectable. It features two houses from Texas – the one pictured above is a Lake/Flato designed ranch in the Hill Country – our version of Provence. Nice!!!! I can’t wait to see more of this house. Photograph by Colleen Duffley for Met Home.

Another Met Home story is about a couple in California with a compound of canvas covered casas! Say that one fast. How charming is this?

And, Jamie Drake’s East Hampton garden is featured too – a must see for sure. More stories include: a weekend house by Amy Lau, one of the blogosphere’s hottest designers, and a farmhouse inspired by Doug Larson’s Swedish roots.

Another much anticipated summer magazine is the July/August issue of Elle Decor. The design blogosphere’s favorite movie star, Mrs. Blandings, has written an article all about her home town, Kansas City. Mrs. Blandings reports, here, that she is thrilled to have been asked to be a part of the Elle Decor team for this issue and we are just as thrilled for her! Magazines and design blogs have a unique relationship - we each benefit from the other’s presence and the more we can work together, the better it is for both of us, don’t you think?

Mrs. Blandings, aka Patricia Shakelford, in front of her favorite fabric in her charming living room.

And, be sure to tune into the current Skirted Roundtable where Mrs. Blandings holds court as our first guest host! You can listen to the delightful Mrs. B. - here.

AND – Stop The Presses!!!!!!! The Skirted Roundtable is convening tonight with another guest host – the charming and ever gracious, Ms. Karen Carroll, Editor in Chief of everyone’s favorite design magazine, Southern Accents!!! We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Karen join us to discuss interior design. Southern Accents is truly an inspiration to me and my design business and I know Cote de Texas readers love the magazine as much as I do. So, plan to spend a while with Linda, Megan, and myself – later on this week – when we bring, Karen Carroll to The Skirted Roundtable! For a preview of the “real” Ms. Carroll, check out the Miss Gracious Living blog, the official blog of Southern Accents, where Ms. Carroll is one of its contributors.

And, when you check out the Southern Accent’s blog, find out who was recently named the latest “Miss Gracious Living.” As you may remember, Moi was the first to hold the title, here, which I reluctantly had to pass on. sob. The new title holder is none other than our favorite blogger from Pigtown - Baltimore, Meg Fairfax Fielding!!!! Read all about Meg here and visit her blog, Pigtown Design, here. Congratulations Meg, wear your crown with dignity and grace, like all of us before you have! You have much to live up to, so - good luck!!!!

Pigtown Design, written by the new Miss Gracious Living, Meg Fairfax Fielding.

BeeLine Home by Bunny Williams.

And last, but certainly not least – a special invitation for Houstonians and Dallasites – Interior Design GREAT – Ms. Bunny Williams is coming to the Lone Star State! HOWDY!!!! On the heels of the debut of her new furniture line, BeeLine Home by Bunny Williams, Ms. Williams will be visiting Mecox this week. You can meet Ms. Williams, have her sign her books for you, and mingle with all the important people in design, like me!!!

Hi Joni! I'm so excited about the news! I can't to listen to the skirtedround table Ms. Carroll has to say! Now I'm very curious about the book thou. Would love to read it and I'm going to start looking for it. Wish you have a wonderful evening! Hugs, Vanessa

Goodness news travels fast! And great news may I add! Iknow what you mean, I used to puor over laps of mags ...now I seem to be attached to my computer screen! Yikes!But surely the cream will rise to the top so to speak ... and the best will make print!Leslie

My arms feel emptier as well at the Borders rack & it does make me sad.Another great point is great subscription deals. Traditional Home recently offered me 3 years for the price of one & currently most are doing similar deals.If you can afford to, is uggest to all that we take advantage or before you know it...we'll lose more.

Just moved back to Tx after many years in the Philadelphia area. I miss the both the number of shelter mags published AND the quality of the writing. (I really don’t like HB’s Q&A format)! Back in the day these mags were more than about design... they were about design as art and about the philosophy of house and home. Well, the lack of good monthly publications has led me to you... a good thing. Best of luck with all your exciting happenings.

Joni,This is all such great news!Love all the magazines but Southern Accents has always been my favorite. Looking forward to hearing all about your visits with all those fine ladies.P.S. Your slip is showing at TLPC.Have fun you lucky girl!Lisa

I wish that it were the case that the remaining shelter magazines are the cream of the crop-I don't find it to be true. I loved Domino, Vogue Living, House and Garden, and Victoria. Now the only two that excite me are House Beautiful and Southern Accents. Don't even get me started on how I feel about Architectural Digest. I think shelter magazines have been getting their ideas from design blogs for some time with very little fresh or new. They are featuring blogs and tapping bloggers as writers and editors because they know that's where the action is. I find more design in blogs than magazines and I am not alone. I think magazines like Domino should have tried going digital.

You always are sooo informative. Thanks for all the updates and info. I have grandkids here, so might have to wait a couple days before I can check it all out. BTW, I love the Skirted Roundtable discussions and look forward to the one with Karen Carroll. I've subscribed to Southern Accents for yrs.marcie

I agree that blogs and dead-tree media can work together. I have subscribed to two new magazines in the past year as a direct result of blog features. Living in Upstate NY I would never have heard of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles if not for blog highlights, and now it's one of my absolute favorites. Waiting to see how "Garden & Gun" is when the first issue arrives.

G'day Joni,From the other side of the world - here in Tasmania, Australia. I have been reading all of your stories and have gone back and read all of the ones I have missed. It took about a fortnight. I love Cote de Texas you are one of my favourite blogs - I am very new to all this technology (yes I know, I've finally joined the 21st century). I think you are as talented as anyone Joni and I think it would be a wonderful idea to publish your own book I know I would rush out to buy it. I especially love your house and would love to see more. I know, I know I sound like a stalker too, but its nice for someone else to admit it too. Right??? I drive past my 'favourite' houses too and I've been known to go to an 'open house' when they've come on the market and looked through!!! My poor husband couldn't believe I would do such a thing!! Thanks for mentioning about the magazines Country homes was my favourite and I'm not embarrassed to admit I nearly cried when they said it was their last issue. How much room do they give you to leave a message. I could write a 5 page letter with what I would love to say - but for now I want to wish you the very best.

The best from your armful of magazines! Love it.(thanks for that little referral by the way) I spent an hour on the phone with that couple yesterday and we got it sorted out. Hopefully they will send me an after picture when it's done and I can post it!Thanks again Joni!xoMaria